Letters to the editor: Feb. 3

The situation in the legislature regarding taking the Department of Education from the superintendent of public instruction during her elected term reminds me of playing cards with my 7-year-old grandson. If the game isn’t going his way, he makes up new rules.

I expect that from a 7-year-old, but I think our lawmakers should have more respect for the law. Make the change at the end of her term if you think it is a better way than what we’ve been doing for a hundred years. You are negating the will of the voters if you put her out now.

Jan Applegate

West Lafayette

The ‘Einstein of Education’ living among us

Ed Eiler, former Lafayette School Corp. superintendent, always has excellent articles about the field he knows so well. I enjoyed his reference to Einstein in his latest (“Faculty right to be skeptical of Purdue’s standardized testing plan,” J&C, Jan. 30) .

I don’t know what Eiler thinks of E = MC², but I truly believe he is the “Einstein of Education.”

Jack Ward

Monticello

Dump U.S. Department of Education, any ties to Common Core

An old American adage says, “Government-controlled schools make as much sense as a government-controlled press, and for all the same reasons.”

Indiana was wise to expand into charter schools and drop Common Core. People serious about educating children should read “Common Ground on Common Core: Voices From Across the Political Spectrum Expose the Realities of the Common Core State Standards” (a collection of essays edited by Kirsten Lombard, Madison, Wisconsin, Resounding Books, 2014 paperback).

You’ll learn how the brainwashing standards teach students what to think rather than how to think, the political indoctrination, the lack of rigor (one size does not fit all), the failed and experimental pedagogical strategies, the confusion and distress suffered by students and parents alike, the invasion of privacy and more.

If Gov. Mike Pence’s replacement is a replay of Common Core, as some letter writers claim, then it should also be discarded. Critical thinking and the freedom to use it need to survive in Indiana. Perhaps a bottom-up approach of parents, teachers, etc., from across the state and from all parties working together could cooperate to build an uplifting system, outside the top-down Orwellian controllers.

The above adage says dissolve the U.S. Department of Education. Return its budget to the states to pay for educating both Barack Obama’s Central American teenagers and expected imports of hundreds of thousands of Middle Eastern refugees, by Obama’s appointment of Fatima Noor, new special assistant for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration in the Department of Homeland Security.

John Shippee

Lafayette

Please run for president, Gov. Pence, so we can replace you

Gov. Mr. Pence, please run for president. Indiana needs a governor, not another Huey Long of Louisiana.

Don Chambers

Lafayette

Increase Indiana’s investment to match rise in mass transit

Most people would agree it’s a good idea to invest in something that’s trending upward. Indiana has often followed this wisdom. For example, as we realized the increasing need for reliable broadband access, the state put money into broadband mapping. When advanced manufacturing showed potential, the state directed resources toward training programs targeting that industry.

However, in recent years, even though demand for transit increased, the state flatlined transit spending.

The General Assembly needs to increase state transit funding from the current $42.5 million — the same funding level for each of the last seven years. Thankfully, Rep. Randy Truitt, R-West Lafayette, has introduced a bill (House Bill 1215) to increase funding to $60 million to accommodate demand and seize the opportunities that better transit can bring.

In Indiana, combined transit ridership was up 15 percent from 2004 to 2013, according to INDOT’s Indiana Public Transit Annual Report. Agencies with increased ridership include CityBus in Lafayette (up 15 percent), IndyGo (up 24 percent) and LaGrange County Area Transit (up 198 percent).

And it isn’t just about demand for a ride; it’s about access to jobs and economic opportunity. Sixty percent of Hoosiers who ride transit use it to get to work or school.

Transit also contributes directly to the Indiana economy. More than 3,500 Hoosiers are employed by transit operations, and thousands more work for the 60 transit manufacturers and suppliers with Indiana operations.

Despite all of this, Indiana’s transit investment has remained stagnant. Please let your elected officials know it’s time to increase Indiana’s investment in transit.

Kim Irwin

Indiana Citizens’ Alliance for Transit

Don’t force confined feeding operations on communities

A bill proposed in the Indiana Senate, Senate Bill 249, would transfer all authority to the state level regarding confined animal feeding operations (known as CAFOs).

CAFOs often have tens of thousands of animals or birds grown in close confinement in barns. At present, county authorities (such as commissioners and council members) in Indiana can enact major regulations regarding CAFOs, such as proximity of barns to a residence. County regulations frequently are much more restrictive than those of the state level authority, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

IDEM regulations are frequently weak to nonexistent. For example, IDEM permits CAFO barns to locate 401 feet from a community — about the length of an average city block. IDEM has no regulations regarding odors or other airborne material such as pathogenic bacteria — none whatsoever. And, many prestigious health organizations have found that health effects from CAFOs, such as asthma and cardiac arrest, can develop thousands of feet away, and thereby advocate greatly restraining CAFOs.

Agribusinesses are major advocate for CAFOs, owing to economic benefits to them. But communities nearby can suffer grievously from collapsed home values. So, one must consider all facets in economic assessments.

Also, IDEM has never failed to issue a building permit to a CAFO applicant — not once. Agribusiness proponents are pushing hard for SB 249, because they could operate without concern of wishes of local populace. If you agree, contact your state senator.

Stephen Obermeier

Rockport

Indiana should support a stronger smog rule

Last week I attended an Environmental Protection Agency hearing on establishing a stronger standard for smog pollution. I advocated for a 60 parts per billion standard, which health groups say would prevent 1.8 million asthma attacks, 1.9 million missed school days, and 6,400 premature deaths annually.

My 3-year-old daughter and I live in Evansville, within 62 miles of 17 coal-fired power plants, including some of the biggest and dirtiest in North America. Smog in my county worsened last year — our grade from the American Lung Association went from D to F.

The current standard isn’t as protective as it should be, so even on days we’re told the air is “moderately” polluted — most days — I don’t feel confident it’s healthy to breathe.

Too many Hoosiers suffer from asthma. At the hearing, a grandmother said, “Holding a child who is gasping for breath is the most terrifying thing you can imagine.” Tyler, age 12, described asthma as feeling like you’re underwater and can’t reach the surface. He said, “I may only be 12, but I know I have the right to clean air.”

So do Hoosier kids. Please support a stronger smog rule.

Wendy Bredhold

Indiana field organizer, Moms Clean Air Force

Evansville

Your turn

Submit letters to the editor of 250 words or fewer to editor@jconline.com or to 217 N. Sixth St., Lafayette, IN 47901. Please include your name, town and phone number, for confirmation purposes.